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WESTERN SERIES OF READERS. 



thick shell breaks, and at once Mr. Gull 



swoops down and be- 

 gins to eat the rich 

 contents. 



The murres crowd 

 together in their rook- 

 eries, as their house- 

 keeping grounds are 

 called, and should a 

 be fired, a great 

 cloud of birds will 

 rise up from the rock, 

 leaving their eggs 

 scarcely a foot apart 

 Figure 85. , upon its bare surface. 



The gulls build a slight nest, in which they lay 

 several eggs, and so do the cormorants, those tall 

 sea-birds which are so swift of wing. Mr. Taylor, 

 who has studied the birds so much, tells us that 

 the young cormorants have neither feathers nor 

 down, but their skins look like black leather. 



The Puffins also live on the islands. They are 

 queer-looking birds, and have been compared to 

 parrots. They have a sharp, hatchet-shaped 

 beak, and funny white eyes. They lay their eggs 

 in burrows, and defend them with much spirit. 

 And so the birds make their various homes on 



